Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review
Species' vulnerability to climate change has become a well-researched field in recent years: between 2000 and 2016, at least 743 articles reporting climate change vulnerability were published in the conservation literature. We reviewed this literature to assess the different methods used to ass...
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doaj-b0533918719c47febf1e2b8e634cbd9d2020-11-25T02:49:14ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942018-07-0115Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A reviewCarolina de los Ríos0James E.M. Watson1Nathalie Butt2School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, Australia; Corresponding author.School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, Australia; Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY, USACentre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, Australia; Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UKSpecies' vulnerability to climate change has become a well-researched field in recent years: between 2000 and 2016, at least 743 articles reporting climate change vulnerability were published in the conservation literature. We reviewed this literature to assess the different methods used to assess vulnerability, how and whether vulnerability was formally assessed, and whether there are trends and biases in either the taxonomic group or the geographic focus of the studies. We found that mechanistic assessment methods prevailed, especially in plant-focused research. Species' exposure to climate change was considered by almost all research articles (n = 741), but other key components of vulnerability, such as sensitivity and adaptive capacity, were addressed only by a minority (n = 499 and n = 103, respectively). Plants (n = 372) were by far the most studied taxon; invertebrates (n = 138), birds (n = 70), fishes (n = 70), mammals (n = 68), and other (n = 42) were the next most studied, but an order of magnitude lower. In terms of the locations of published studies, we found a clear bias towards most-developed nations. Research that does not focus on all three vulnerability components tends to either under- or over-estimate a species' vulnerability to climate change or how they may be impacted. The identified spatial and taxonomic bias means a narrow understanding of the consequences of climate change. More resources should be directed towards the study of under-represented taxa, especially those in less developed countries, in order to gain a more holistic insight on the vulnerability of biodiversity to climate change. Keywords: Vulnerability, Climate change, Publishing bias, Conservation planninghttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989418300714 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Carolina de los Ríos James E.M. Watson Nathalie Butt |
spellingShingle |
Carolina de los Ríos James E.M. Watson Nathalie Butt Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review Global Ecology and Conservation |
author_facet |
Carolina de los Ríos James E.M. Watson Nathalie Butt |
author_sort |
Carolina de los Ríos |
title |
Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review |
title_short |
Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review |
title_full |
Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review |
title_fullStr |
Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: A review |
title_sort |
persistence of methodological, taxonomical, and geographical bias in assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: a review |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
issn |
2351-9894 |
publishDate |
2018-07-01 |
description |
Species' vulnerability to climate change has become a well-researched field in recent years: between 2000 and 2016, at least 743 articles reporting climate change vulnerability were published in the conservation literature. We reviewed this literature to assess the different methods used to assess vulnerability, how and whether vulnerability was formally assessed, and whether there are trends and biases in either the taxonomic group or the geographic focus of the studies. We found that mechanistic assessment methods prevailed, especially in plant-focused research. Species' exposure to climate change was considered by almost all research articles (n = 741), but other key components of vulnerability, such as sensitivity and adaptive capacity, were addressed only by a minority (n = 499 and n = 103, respectively). Plants (n = 372) were by far the most studied taxon; invertebrates (n = 138), birds (n = 70), fishes (n = 70), mammals (n = 68), and other (n = 42) were the next most studied, but an order of magnitude lower. In terms of the locations of published studies, we found a clear bias towards most-developed nations. Research that does not focus on all three vulnerability components tends to either under- or over-estimate a species' vulnerability to climate change or how they may be impacted. The identified spatial and taxonomic bias means a narrow understanding of the consequences of climate change. More resources should be directed towards the study of under-represented taxa, especially those in less developed countries, in order to gain a more holistic insight on the vulnerability of biodiversity to climate change. Keywords: Vulnerability, Climate change, Publishing bias, Conservation planning |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989418300714 |
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